FAA delays closing Punta Gorda Airport tower

The Federal Aviation Administration will postpone a plan to close air traffic control towers for another two months at 149 airports across the country, including Punta Gorda, the agency said Friday.

The Punta Gorda Airport was slated to lose the $600,000 annual earmark April 21, when the airport would have been forced to close the $4 million tower just 14 months after its debut because of a lack of federal money for staff.

But FAA chief executive J. David Grizzle notified the airports Friday that the tower closures — part of the agency's required $637 million budget cuts under federal sequestration — will be delayed until June 15.

If or when the cuts were to take effect, the Punta Gorda Airport could not afford to keep the tower open through its $5.6 million budget alone, said Gary Quill, the airport's executive director.

“Our elected officials heard the outcry, and they responded,” Quill said. “We are obviously very happy.”

The decision to postpone the cuts stemmed largely from the legal threats by several of the affected airports, including Punta Gorda and Naples, the agency said. The FAA plans to consult with airports during the next two months to explore alternative funding strategies.

The FAA announced on March 22 that it would stop federal funding for 149 contract towers across the country through a four-week phased closing process that was scheduled to begin Sunday.

The decision prompted an outcry from smaller airports in Florida, which pleaded for Congress to stall the action and even threatened formal lawsuits against the federal government.

“This has been a complex process and we need to get this right,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “Safety is our top priority. We will use this additional time to make sure communities and pilots understand the changes at their local airports.”

The plan to close the tower at Punta Gorda sent shock waves to the commercial carriers that now operate there, including Allegiant Air.

A spokeswoman for the airline said Friday that the carrier has no immediate plans to stop or cut back on any of its 11 routes at Punta Gorda — with or without the control tower.

Punta Gorda averages 140 flights monthly during tower operation, though Allegiant also has flights before and after tower hours.

The FAA estimated it would save $33 million in the current fiscal year by eliminating service to the towers. Only about 50 of the 149 airports affected have said they could fund the towers on their own, according to the FAA letter.

“Extending the transition deadline will give the FAA and airports more time to execute the changes to the National Airspace System,” the agency said.